KEY POINTS:
Defending New Zealand Open men's beach volleyball champions Kirk Pitman and Jason Lochhead beat fifth seeds Matt Prosser and Dane Jensen 21-18 21-15 in the quarter-finals yesterday in Auckland.
Pitman was more controlled with his passing yesterday and Lochhead looks to have recovered from a knee injury which has restricted his sideways movement and ability to jump in the last couple of weeks.
He recorded several service aces with his powerful jump serve in beating the strong US team.
Pitman and Lochhead face compatriots Brendon Heath and Greg Lindsay-Brown in the semifinals today. Last week at Mount Maunganui, it was Heath and Lindsay-Brown who prevailed in a three-set thriller, handing Pitman and Lochhead their first loss to a fellow New Zealand team in five years.
However, the NZ Open has been a happy hunting ground for Pitman and Lochhead recently. They have won the last two tournaments, and finished runner-up in the two years prior to that.
Lindsay-Brown and Heath defeated rising stars Sam O'Dea and Sam Wallace-Boyd 18-21 21-17 15-8 in an epic three-set quarter-final.
O'Dea and Wallace-Boyd, both 18, showed the form that won them a gold medal at the World Youth Olympics in Sydney last week, pushing the tournament top seeds all the way in their quarter-final.
In today's other men's semifinal, the tall Dutch combination of Bart Bolsterlee and Timko Lokerse will square off against France's Andy and Kevin Ces, who are ranked 13th in the world.
In the women's section, Anna Scarlett and Susan Blundell's mission to become the first New Zealand women's team to win the NZ Open is still on course after a commanding 21-9, 21-9 victory in their quarter-final over Micah Lindsay-Brown and Abbey Greenwood.
Scarlett and Blundell are currently in commanding form, proving difficult to pass at the net, and showing great skills to pick up most balls in the back court.
They are showing the benefits of their year on the World Tour in 2008, as well as mixing up their front court and back court play.
They will meet the Brazilian combination of Nina Zgoda and Fernanda Costa in today's semifinals.
